1. PicLens

PicLens instantly transforms your browser into a full-screen 3D experience for viewing images across the web. Makes browsing through pictures a wonderful experience. The interactive 3D Wall and built-in search function, lets you effortlessly drag, click, zoom, and zip your way around a wall of pictures for an amazing viewing experience.

2. Snap Links

You know the times where you have been trying to find something through a search engine, but you have to go through every link one by one in order to find it? All of us have been there, but now with just one click you can open multiple searches with Snap Links. Snap Links allows users to easily open multiple links in new tabs by drawing a box around them.

3. Tab Scope

With Tab Scope you can hover over a tab to get an instant preview of the web page. The cool thing is you have real time navigation, zoom, and you can even click on links without having to switch tabs.

4. Reminder Fox

This is for those who spend hours on Firefox, including myself. Reminder Fox is an extension that displays and manages to do's. It can set reminders and alert you at the appropriate moment.

5. Download Statusbar

You can view and manage downloads in a small status bar in the corner of the screen, without having that download window get in your way.

6. HyperWords

This add-on makes every word interactive by adding a very handy options menu when you hover over it. Just think, you are viewing a map, and you hover over a location name and you get the option to locate it, search it, or get any information you want on it. Possibilities are endless!

7. Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer

If you're like me and use Firefox on multiple computers, you'll want Foxmarks. All you have to do is install Foxmarks on each computer and without you knowing, it will synchronize your bookmarks for you. You can also log onto my.foxmarks.com to have access to your bookmarks where ever you go.

8. Tab Effect

It adds a nice effect to Firefox by simulating a 3D cube being turned when switching through tabs.

9. Cooliris Previews

Cooliris Preview allows you to surf through the web faster by giving you a small preview of the website, without you even having to click on it. Just imagine, surfing without wasting time by clicking on links and coming to realize that it wasn't even close to what you were looking for. All you have to do is just mouse over any link, and the Cooliris preview window immediately appears in order to show you the content.

10. StumbleUpon

This is by far the best add-on out there. It discovers websites based on your interests, and learns what you like. A fair warning to those that want to download this, it's so great that you will find yourself spending more time than you thought possible surfing around the web. It basically feels like the first time you got high speed internet.

Download Statusbar

Keeps downloads in a neat little taskbar at the bottom of your browser instead of having to open multiple windows.

Cooliris Previews

Preview pages before you actually go onto them by hovering over the link and clicking the little cooliris logo.

Add To Search BarThis clever little add-on lets you add any search bar from any webpage by simply right clicking the bar.

Stumbleupon

Simply input your interests and any time you press the “stumble” this amazing thing comes up something that is almost guaranteed to be something you like. If you do like it then press “I like it” and if you're not so keen you press “I don't like it”. Every time you do this, Stumbleupon remembers what you liked and brings up things that are related to them.

FoxyTunes

Sits at the bottom left hand corner of your browser and allows you to pause, play, fast forward, rewind and adjust the volume of your music playing in a variety of players.

Piclens

Works with Google and a lots of other image search engines etc. Just click the piclens logo on one of the pictures and you almost instantly get a slide show of the full size images.

Dictionary

Kind of explains itself. Spell checks what you type.

Adblock Plus

A very simple and easy to use add-on for blocking annoying adverts that make web pages take ages to load. Simply right click the add, click Adblock image and there you have it! An ad free page.

Shareaholic

A great all in one add-on for sharing pages on sites like dig and del-icio-us.

Mouse Gestures

Allows you to do commands like back, forward, new tab etc. by simply very quickly by drawing logical gestures on top of the browser.

I started writing search engine result pages for Mahalo about a month ago out of a need to pay my bills. I didn't know or care what Mahalo's purpose was, so long as they weren't harming puppies or small children. I did like the idea of saying to my friends, “What do you mean, have I heard of this band? I wrote the search engine result page for them!”

As I began learning the ins and outs of writing these pages (primarily by studying the Mahalo pages made by other guides), I became aware of Mahalo's purpose anyway. Like many people, I thought it seemed a lovely idea for those poor souls who weren't capable of searching for themselves. It wasn't until I found myself bookmarking half the links I found on those Mahalo pages that I realized something important: This is not just your elderly mother's search engine.

Mahalo is an awesome resource. Perhaps all the controversy surrounding it is due to a misunderstanding of how it can best be used. I doubt it was ever intended to replace Google, especially since it incorporates Google results when there isn't an appropriate Mahalo page. I think Mahalo's intended function is to reduce Google type searching and save time, and it has done that marvelously for me.

When I use Mahalo to look up, for instance, bands I'm interested in, I find free MP3's for many of them, without the bothersome, ad-riddled search that finding these for myself often entails. I find song samples without having to look for them in more than one place. Lyrics and, frequently, tabs are also right there, sparing much annoyance. (You know what I mean if you search for tabs regularly.) When I'm looking for general info and media on my favorite bands, I will always go to Mahalo first. I can hardly tell you how thrilled I am that it exists.

A benefit I've newly discovered is that there is no need to bookmark all the links I find on Mahalo. I only need to bookmark the Mahalo page I find them on, if I must bookmark something. Whenever I want to check out great pictures of the White Stripes, I can just go back to the White Stripes Mahalo page, and I can also check for news on them while I'm there. The online texts by my favorite author will be listed on his Mahalo page any time I want to reference them, along with the great fan site that made me laugh and the link where I can buy his latest book.

When looking for specific information, a Google type search engine will still be your best bet. If I want to know why Amanda Palmer wrote the song "Bad Habit", I'll probably go with Google first, as that's likely to be the fastest way to get the information. But if I've just heard Dresden Dolls for the first time, and I want to know as much as I can about them, it's pretty much guaranteed that the best links will be on their Mahalo page. In this case, Mahalo, where I can simply click on high quality, organized links, is much faster and more satisfying. I get straight down to being immersed in the band, without ever hearing the dreaded, “Congratulations! You have won a free iPod!” (Uh huh, and that's the third one I've won today. Oh joy.)

Don't let my obsession with pop culture give you the idea that Mahalo is only a resource for bands, books, and movies. Mahalo has some excellent pages on health conditions, and I'd recommend it as a good starting place for anyone wanting to know more about a diagnosis or a suspected diagnosis. Mahalo is also one of the best resources I've seen for planning a vacation. It will be my first stop when I start plotting my road trip to the east coast this fall. In addition, Mahalo has some great how-to pages on anything from writing a resume to learning a language; thorough pages on historical figures for school kids doing homework; tips and tools for popular web 2.0 sites, and it's a great source for recipes. (Try searching on cheesecake... mmmm.) There are more topics and more kinds of useful information on Mahalo than I have the time and space to list.

With all this in mind, I broke down and installed Mahalo Follow (Mahalo's browser add-on) a few days ago. I don't like extra toolbars, especially if they appear like they might be intrusive, so I did this skittishly and with every intention of removing it if it so much as looked at me funny. To my delight, the Mahalo Follow sidebar can be closed except when you need it, and then it can quickly be reactivated by a button on your regular toolbar. When activated, it shows Mahalo search results in a sidebar right next to the results from your regular search engine. I love this because I never miss a Mahalo page on a topic that interests me, and I don't waste time in Google when Mahalo has already found what I need. The add-on also includes a Mahalo toolbar for searching exclusively on Mahalo. If you don't need this, it can easily be deactivated from your browser menu without affecting the use of the sidebar.

Keep in mind that Mahalo is in Alpha. This means that there are a lot of search results pages that haven't been written yet. Those pages aren't there now, but they will be soon, as Mahalo moves towards Beta and beyond. I'm seeing a lot of impatience on the web as people complain, “I did a search on lima beans and they weren't there. I love lima beans! I hate Mahalo.”

Give them time. Lima beans will be there.